In the interest of assuring full transparency and compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA), and due to the City of Teague asserting that the City of Fairfield has violated TOMA with respect to prior Council actions, Fairfield Council held a special called meeting on Thursday, March 21st to address these issues. Each of the items in question was presented with the background and staff recommendation as to whether Council should ratify, modify, or void the initial action, or if there should be no action taken. Public comment was welcome on each item; however, Council was unable to respond. Allyse Long, a Fairfield resident, who is also an employee of the City of Teague, questioned each item, citing insufficient details and lack of transparency by the City of Fairfield. Items that were reapproved (ratified) are as follows: –Approve proceeding with Project Water #3 and give the Mayor the authority to proceed with all necessary documents and filings to conclude and close the transaction as considered at the April 12, 2016 Council Meeting. –Approve raising Fairfield’s TMRS deposit rate to 7% pending all necessary paperwork as considered at the June 14, 2016 Council Meeting. –Approve Fairfield Industrial Development Corporation expansion plans as considered at the September 27, 2016 Council Meeting. –Approve variance of property line on Hughes property and approve building permit for said property as considered at the March 14, 2017 Council Meeting. –Approve action regarding a long term contract with the Freestone County Fair Association as considered at the May 1, 2018 and May 8, 2018 Council Meetings. –Approve issuance of a letter of intent for the purchase of property from Navarro College as considered at the August 14, 2018 Council Meeting. –Approve repairs to Faire Department ladder truck to Siddons-Martin with budget amendment in the amount of $24,521.83 as considered at the November 13, 2018 Council Meeting. –Approve acceptance of retirement letter from Chief Kenny Bulger effective November 30, 2018 as considered at the November 13, 2018 Council Meeting. –Approve acceptance of thirty day termination of contract letter dated November 5, 2018 from Jana Taylor, Interim City Administrator as considered at the November 13, 2018 Council Meeting. –Approve recommendation of the City Judge for Donna Bulger to go to a forty-hour work week as considered at the November 13, 2018 Council Meeting. All of these items were approved by Councilmen James Tyus, Randy Johnson, Keith Daniels, and Landis Bayless. Councilman Jason Bosley voted against each of these. Modified items were: –Original Motion was – Approve moving forward with purchase of Navarro College Campus as considered at the November 9, 2018 Council Meeting. –Modified Motion is – Approve moving forward with pursing a study of Navarro College Campus. Councilman Daniels made the motion to modify. Voting to approve were Councilmen Johnson, Bayless, and Bosley. Councilman Tyus voted against. Items which were voided include: –Approve moving $250,000 from TDCJ fund to the General Fund as considered at the September 12, 2017 Council Meeting. On September 12, 2017, Councilmen Joe Lee Kirgan, Jr. made the motion to move the monies and Councilman Bayless gave the second. Councilman (now Mayor) Kenny Hughes voted to approve. Voting against were Councilmen Daniels and Johnson. At the September 11, 2018 meeting, Frank Steele, the City’s annual auditor, made a presentation to the Council explaining that the action to move the money was never completed. Due to this fact, a recommendation was made to void the original action. –Accept a quote from Wright Climate Heating and Air for the purchase of an AC/Heating Unit for the Fairfield Boy Scout hut located at the Moody Reunion Fairgrounds as considered at the November 13, 2018 Council Meeting. This item was voided due to the fact that the man who submitted the bid was not actually an employee of Wright Climate Heating and Air. The company says they had no knowledge of the bid and refused to take payment for work they did not bid on or perform. The equipment has since been removed from the Boy Scout hut and the City is redoing the bidding process. Again, both items were approved by Councilmen Tyus, Johnson, Daniels, and Bayless; with Councilman Bosley voting against. Also at this meeting, Council voted to reject recommendations from the City of Teague for revisions to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, as presented at the Joint Council Meeting between the two cities held on October 18, 2018. In addition, with the exception of Councilman Bosley, Council approved an Escrow Agreement with the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association, to authorize the City of Fairfield to deposit available funds for defeased bonds for the discharge and final payment of the defeased bonds. (Defeasance is a provision that voids a bond or loan when the borrower sets aside cash or bonds sufficient enough to service the borrower’s debt.) This action, once taken, will pay off the remaining bond amount for TDCJ wastewater facilities, which will effectively conclude the agreement between the two cities. City of Fairfield’s regularly schedule meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Fairfield City Hall, located at 222 South Mount Street in Fairfield. Nicole Schaefer reporting
